The Truth That Burns
by smileshappy24
Summary: Sylvie is the Mayor's daughter and is the most pampered girl in her district. But she is hiding years and years of pain under her cheerful getup. Can the hunger games help break her shell or will it make her more guarded than ever? And will she find romance in a pit of killing and pain?
1. Chapter 1

**Ok guys this is my first story so don't hate! If people like this part I will keep on going!**

The Truth That Burns

_A small white dove gracefully flew above me, its wings painting an intricate pattern in the sky. It looked tired yet serene as it sliced through the air. All of a sudden the sky turned black and the dove flew in a frenzied, frightened motion. I tried to call out to the sweet little bird, but it was too late. It flopped down at my feet, dead. _

I jerked awake, gasping for breath.

"Not again!" I mumbled as I rubbed my eyes, looking around at my surroundings. I had fallen asleep in my mother's room again. The room was huge with beautiful dressers and furniture scattered all around. It had a shiny coat of paint on the walls and the carpet was plush and soft. A dark shadow lurked in the doorway and quietly padded into the room.

"Why are you in here?" the voice said gruffly.

"Sorry, Dad! I guess I accidently fell asleep in here again."

"What did I tell you about coming in here?" My Father roared. "The person who used to occupy this room is a disgrace and you are not to be in here!" I sighed. My Dad doesn't even say "mother" anymore.

"I'm sorry Dad. I promise it won't happen again."

"It better not! Today is the reaping so I expect you to be up and dressed and ready by then!"

"Yes, Father" I mumbled. With that he spun on his heel and briskly walked out of the room. I got up and padded over to the window facing the district. I grimaced as I saw the muddy streets and dirty, starving children. Whenever I looked outside I felt ashamed of myself. That I had it so good while the rest of the district was suffering. If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm the mayor's daughter. My Father is super strict but I shouldn't complain. Some people in the district had unemployed Fathers. I would definitely prefer a father who is employed yet mean and cold-hearted to a father who is unemployed yet loving and caring. Right? Never mind that! Sage and Elana would be here any minute with my carton of fresh wild berries. I rushed down the stairs and sneaked past Dad's office. I quietly opened the side door and squeezed through it. I was greeted by a muscular boy with dirty blonde hair and an amazingly tall girl with jet black locks. The boy, Sage, held out a bag of berries silently. I took them and dug deep into my pockets for money. Elana, the girl, cleared her throat.

"So the reaping's today" She blurted.

"Yeah, I really hope you guys don't get picked." I responded. Elana smiled. She was always the nice one. Although, you couldn't let her kind outer-shell fool you. If you get on her bad side she's like a pack of hungry wolves about to feast. I finally found some coins and plunked them into Sages awaiting hands.

"At least _some_ of us have an almost miniscule chance of getting reaped." He said demeaning. I turned a bright red, matching the berries in my hand. I didn't have to get tesserae, which is where you enter yourself more times in the hunger games and get food out of it. I wasn't starving like Sages and Elana's families were. Sage and Elana aren't siblings or boyfriend and girlfriend. They were just friends that hunted together.

"I told you guys, I want to help the district by giving out food but my Dad…"

"Save it!" Sage spat at me. As you can probably tell, Sage pretty much loathes me.

"So you need berries next Monday and Wednesday?" Elana interjected.

"Yes." I responded, relieved that the subject was changed.

"OK, see you at the reaping!"

"Wait!" I called.

"What," she said, annoyed " Sylvie, we really have to go…"

"I was wondering if you wanted one of my dresses."

"What!" She screamed. "I don't need any help! I have enough clothes! I'm not helpless!" _That_ is what I meant by a pack of angry wolves.

"What I mean," I said calmly "Is that my Dad got me this dress that doesn't match my hair at all." I picked up a lock of my auburn hair. "But it would match your hair perfectly!"

"Oh, well if that's it, then I am doing you a favor!" I took the dress I had been hiding behind me and thrust it at her. She took it and started walking away. Sage paused a second and quickly nodded at me. I nodded back. We both understood Elana, you **never **mess with her pride. The only way to get her to take gifts would be to turn the situation around. I plastered a fake smile on my face and went inside to greet Dad.

I threw my hair back in a bun with braids on the side leading to it. I quickly shrugged into my pale lavender dress and popped purple gem earrings in my ear. I was going to be in so much trouble! I was late…again. This has happened for the past 3 years! I slipped on my white dress shoes and scampered down the stairs. I threw open the front door and slammed head-first into Dad. I swear that his eyes were red. I could practically imagine steam coming out of his ears. We stared at each other for a while until his bright red face motioned me to come with him. I knew that after the reaping I was going to get the talking of my life. I wasn't really worried for the reaping. Each year I lost sleep thinking about it and each year I never got picked. There was no way that my name would be reaped. No way.

I closed my eyes as they took the blood from my finger. I have never been good around blood. I heard a ping and the woman blandly said

" Sylvie Hendrix, Female, 15?" I nodded and she motioned to where the other fifteen year-old girls were. I sliced my way through the crowd until I was in the middle. I easily found Elana, with her height, and stood next to her. We smiled at each other. Even though she looked cool and calm I knew she was really worried. I turned my attention to the giant platform where the reaping would take place. It was eerily silent as a slide show came on showing how good the hunger games were for us. As usual I tuned it out. After that they introduced my dad, he said a boring speech, same old same old. Then then introduced our only victor, a woman in her mid-20's who looked like she dressed herself in the dark. She had two different colored socks on and had on a ripped yellow dress and pink, puffy tutu. When she got to the microphone she started screaming gibberish. There was only one word I could make out which was "Die!". Some peacekeepers came and escorted her away. It was like this every year.

"Next," I mumbled. " Is the amazing Byrd Forbes" Practically a second later my dad announced those very words. Byrd was from the capital and would help teach the tributes manners and stuff to do when in the capital. His bright yellow hair was gelled up in a sort of wave and the collar of his bright pink suit was elevated and higher than his hair. His face was covered in pounds of make-up and concealers. All in all he looked like a giant lollipop.

"Hello Ladies and Gentlemen!" He yelled. There was a pattering of claps here and there, most of which was by the peacemakers. "Let's get right down to it! How about we start with boys this time!" This surprised me, they usually do girls first. A peacemaker hurriedly stood up and whispered in Byrd's ear. He paled and walked up to the microphone. "Just kidding! Girls first, like usual!" For some reason an uneasy feeling caught in my stomach. I got mad at myself. There was no way my name could get picked. I was in there 4 times! Some people were in there more than forty! There was **no way**…

" Sylvie Hendrix!" What! Oh gosh. Oh gosh no! There was no way! The people around me had backed away leaving me in the middle of a big empty circle. Suddenly I felt my legs moving forward as I started toward the stage. "Don't worry! I won't bite!" Byrd tried to joke. This wasn't happening. This wasn't happening. I found myself facing the rest of the crowd, watching their petrified eyes on me. The mayors' children have never been picked before…ever. My mind was a mess of memories and laughs. My life was _already_ flashing before my eyes. "Ok, let's go on to the boys!" Byrd yelled. I could barely breathe. This is just another nightmare. This can't be happening. I watched Byrd sink his hand into the bubble of names in the boys jar. I saw the name a split second before he said it. " Sage Langley!" No no no no! This couldn't get any worse. I watched Sage make his way up to the stage. He was 16, only a year older than me, yet he towered above me. I knew I was going to die in the first scene of the hunger games. Maybe I could ask him to do it quick and bloodless. That would be a major blessing. "Well, shake hands!" I stepped forward and gripped Sages hand. My hand looked like it belonged to a toddler compared to his. "Happy 45th Hunger Games! And may the odds be _ever_ in your favor!" I only knew one thing as the peacemakers lead me away. The nightmare I had was real life. I was the dove and the darkness was whatever was waiting to kill me in the hunger games.

**Ok again this is my first story! I love constructive criticism but try not to be too harsh! If people like this I will continue doing this!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N ok so no one reviewed yet so I have just decided to continue the story and hope that more people read and review it! (Fingers crossed!)**

** I unfortunately do not own the hunger games. **

I ran my fingers over the soft velvety cloth of the couch as I waited for my first visitor to come and say goodbye. It reminded me of my couches at home. A deep pain erupted in my stomach when I realized that I was never going to see home again. I still couldn't believe that my name was picked out of the bowl. It was so unlikely, yet it had happened. My eyes were puffy and red from crying and wondering why the world was so unfair. I knew that I was going to die in the first 5 seconds of the hunger games. All the other tributes had trained for this, or had hunted for food. They would know how to find food and survive in the hunger games. The beautiful brass doorknob to the oak door slowly turned as my first visitor came. My boyfriend, Kale, coolly slouched in.

"Hey sweetheart!" he drawled. I grimaced, yet quickly turned it into a smile before Kale noticed. I never really liked him but my dad sat me down one day and said that I had to have a boyfriend before I turned twelve. It had to do with wanting the image of the mayor's family to be perfect. Within a day my dad brought in my childhood friend and told me that we were going to be a couple. Yup, you guessed it, that was Kale. Over the years Kale changed from a sweet, innocent kid to a too-cool-for-school type guy. I quickly turned my attention back to him. He smiled and yelled, "Wow, the hunger games! Ouch! I've got a helpful hint for you…stay alive!" He cracked up like that was the most hilarious joke in the world. I plastered on a fake smile and laughed at his insulting joke. A peacekeeper in an blinding white suit popped out from behind the door.

"Thirty seconds!" he stated gruffly.

"Ok, in all seriousness, how in the world are you going to make it through the games?" Kale said, curiosity edging through his voice.

"I don't know, Kale." I replied, sighing. "I really don't know."

"Times up!" the peacekeeper screamed, coming inside to direct Kale to the door. Kale pecked my lips quickly.

"Love ya!" he drawled.

"Love you too." I grumbled. I could only think of two other people who would come in to see me next, Elana and my dad. I wasn't even sure if my dad would come. He would probably say he had meetings to go to and papers to file. Next in was Elana, just as I had thought. She rushed in and immediately hugged me. I felt tears springing to my eyes. She was the only friend I had here and I was her only friend (not including Sage).

"I'm so sorry!" She whimpered, her voice choked by tears. "Of all people to get picked…"

"It's ok." I interrupted. "I can just ask Sage to kill me quickly in the bloodbath…"

"Oh no you won't! Sylvie Jamie Hendrix you are going to try your hardest to win the hunger games! I will be ashamed of you if you let yourself die! You need to go fighting!" Her speech surprisingly gave me more confidence. She was right. If I die without fighting, I would look helpless and small.

" Thanks Elana. You are the best friend a girl can have!" I pulled her into another bone-crunching hug.

"Times up!" the gruff voice grumbled. Why did the sessions have to be so short? As Elana was being taken away she grabbed my hand again. I squeezed it, thinking it to be a friendly gesture. My eyes widened in surprise as I felt something small and hard in my hand. Elana gave me a knowing look as she disappeared behind the door. I looked into my palm and saw a small crystal and piece of folded notebook paper. I unfolded the paper and read:

_Dear Sylvie,_

_I'm giving you this crystal as your token in the hunger games. When I was looking for a token to give you, I noticed something shining in the street. I knew it was the perfect thing to get you. I AM going to see you after the hunger games because you ARE going to win! Whenever you feel lonely just look at this crystal and remember that I am rooting for you to win!_

_ ~Elana_

_P.S. There is something in the crystal that I couldn't make out. Maybe you can try to see what it is. _

My throat constricted and tears started leaking out of the corners of my eyes. Suddenly the door started to creak open again. I quickly shoved the crystal and paper in my pocket and wiped the tears out of my eyes. All I saw was a blur of black and the next thing I know my _dad _was _hugging _me. Yes you heard that right. My _dad_ was _hugging_ me. For me, you usually don't find "dad" and "kind" in the same sentence. This was like President Snow declaring that the hunger games were banished and that the new flag would consist of rainbows and unicorns.

"Um…dad?" I squeaked.

"Honey, I am so sorry! I am so sorry!" Oh my gosh! Maybe my dad had turned a new leaf! Maybe I finally had a dad who loved me! As soon as I heard the "thwak" of the door my dad immediately straightened up and brushed himself off. Or maybe my dad was just acting like he loved me for the peacekeepers guarding the door. My heart sank to the very soles of my feet. "Sylvie,"

"Yes Father?" I responded obediently.

"I need you to listen close. It was not a coincidence that you got picked to be in the hunger games. I did something to…well…anger the capital. This is their way of punishment. You CANNOT trust them. Do you understand me?"

Overwhelmed by the currant of information, I slowly nodded. I noticed that my dad looked more tired than usual. His hair was staring to get more gray hairs and the bags under his eyes were deeper and had more color. "Good. You cannot let anyone know that we have had this talk, alright?" Again, I nodded like a robot. "I cannot say this enough, Sylvie, you cannot trust- I love you so much!" I looked behind him to see why he had changed his statement in the middle of talking. Sure enough the peacekeeper had just opened the door.

"Times up, sir." He said in a much nicer and more polite way. As he was walking out my dad gave me a look as if to say: _Tell no one we have had this talk._ I curtly nodded and then he was gone and I was finally alone. I slumped back in the couch wondering what had just happened.

Not long after my dad's visit a group of pristine peacekeepers marched me to the train that would take me to the capital. The train was sleek and high-tech. It had an electric-blue siding and white everywhere else. It looked amazing and out of place compared to my district. I took one look back at district 6, my home. Finally I stepped inside the strange and new device. I should know all about trains and other transportation devices since our district makes them, but I always tune out whenever my dad talks about them. My dad. What had happened when he came to visit me? Was it true that my name being reaped was not because of chance, but because the capital made it that way. _You cannot trust the capital_,he had said. This was coming from the guy who told me that the capital was amazing and to trust them, since I was six. Suddenly an image flashed in my mind. It was of a small baby with a mop of blonde fuzz on their head. The door in the train opened and I was quickly shaken from my daydream. Sage and Byrd came through it. Byrd looked happy and pleasant and Sage looked like he wanted to punch something.

"Hello Sylvie!" Byrd shouted goofily. "Do you like the train? It is so comfortable that you can't even feel it when it is moving!" I looked behind him and saw our crazy mentor. She came in and collapsed on a couch. I noticed that her eyes were different colors. One was dark brown while the other was electrifying green. Byrd looked uncomfortable with her. He moved a few steps away and glanced cautiously at her.

"Kids, this is your mentor, Pica!" Pica looked at us with her strange eyes and opened her mouth. She let out a bloodcurdling wail and started pounding the pillows on the couch. "I'll leave you to it then. Oh, and the showing of all the reaping' is in 20 minutes!" And with that Byrd practically sprinted from the room. I looked up at Sage. He looked helpless, like he didn't know what to do. I had dealt with a lot of crazy people in my lifetime so I decided I would try to help Pica.

"You go on to your room," I commanded, "I will put Pica in her own room to get some sleep." He nodded, obviously relieved that he didn't have to deal with her. I gently lifted Pica's head. "Pica, are you tired?" She nodded tears slipping down her face. "Come on." I practically dragged her to her room and got her changed in a flowing white nightgown. I laid her down and I was about to leave when she called out to me.

"Wait! Can you sing me a lullaby?"

"A lullaby?"

"Yes, my big sister used to sing to me every night after I came back from the hunger games so I would fall asleep."

"What happened to her?"

"She got reaped two years after me. I had to mentor her and…and watch her die."

"I'm so sorry. Of course I will sing to you." No wonder Pica was in such a mess. I felt a strong urge to help her. I didn't really know any lullaby's so I just started humming a random tune. Suddenly words came to my mouth. I didn't even know this song, yet I was singing it as if it was my favorite song in the world. Suddenly images flashed in my mind. It was the baby again, yet it was in a comfy pink crib now. In my head I heard a strong clear voice singing. That voice was singing the very song I was just moments ago. I stumbled back, gasping. The image slowly faded away. I glanced at Pica, her breathing steady and her eyes closed. I silently sneaked out and padded into the room with the television. Sage was already seated with Byrd.

"It's about time you came! They are about to show district one!" I plopped down next to Sage and watched the giant glowing screen. Reaping after reaping I stared, never really taking anything in. All of the names blurred together: Canna, Darrel, Sorrel. I knew that I should be paying attention. I knew that I would have to face these people to the death but my mind kept wandering. Suddenly, the image flashed to district six. I saw my name being called. I saw my disbelief. I instantly knew that the other tributes would see me as an easy target. They did a close-up of me on the stage. Tears were leaking out of the corners of my eyes. I cried? I don't remember crying! I buried my face in the couch, too embarrassed to look at Sage or Byrd. Finally, it flashed on to district seven. I barely paid attention again. I looked over at Sage and realized that he was jotting things down on a peice of paper. I needed to get my hands on that to assess my fellow tributes. When the reaping's were over, sage folded up the piece of paper and stuck it in his pocket. I expertly weaved my way to get into my own room and bumped into him on the way.

"Sorry!" I mumbled.

"S'ok" he replied. I rushed to my room, trying to keep the sly smile off my face. In my hand was the crumpled piece of notebook paper. I opened it up and quickly read:

_District 1:_

_Girl: Alyssum –major threat—volunteered_

_Boy: Sorrel—major threat—volunteered_

_District 2:_

_Girl: Ember—major threat—volunteered_

_Boy: Darrel—major threat—volunteered_

_District 3:_

_Girl: Canna—minor threat—cried_

_Boy: Dusk—major threat—volunteered_

_District 4:_

_Girl: Juniper—unknown threat—very subtle—didn't volunteer_

_Boy: Sorrel—minor threat—hugged family before going to stage_

_District 5:_

_Girl: Fern—unknown threat—didn't volunteer_

_Boy: Basil—strong—possible ally_

_District 6:_

_Girl: Sylvie—unknown _

_District 7:_

_Girl: Hyacinth—unknown_

_Boy: Spruce –unknown_

_District 8:_

_Girl: Magnolia—unknown_

_Boy: Comet—major threat—volunteered _

_District 9:_

_Girl: Poppy—minor threat—cried_

_Boy: Bracken—unknown—possible ally_

_District 10:_

_Girl: Cayenne—possible threat—showed no sign of sadness_

_Boy: Finch—unknown_

_District 11:_

_Girl: Sequoia—very confident—didn't cry_

_Boy: Flint—unknown_

_District 12:_

_Girl: Isle—looked like she knew the boy tribute—unknown_

_Boy: Dune—looked like he knew the girl tribute—unknown_

I was shocked. I couldn't believe he had assessed all of the tributes. He really wanted to win! I remembered Elana's words. I should want to win too! The only thing I didn't understand was my evaluation. He didn't even write that I cried! All he wrote was unknown. That was really strange. I ran back to the lounge and dropped the piece of paper on the ground so that Sage would think that he dropped it. I ran back to my room and plumped on my bed. I was exhausted. So much had happened today. I stifled a yawn. I grudgingly got up and took a long hot shower. I have never had a shower before. The only way to get clean in district 6 would to get in a tub of water. I got out and slipped on a nightgown not unlike Pica's. I looked at myself in the full-length mirror. I had shoulder length auburn hair and bright blue eyes. I was short for my age, about 4'9. I imagined myself taller and with short-cropped hair. I imagined muscles poking out o the sleeves of my nightgown. I smiled. Maybe I could get Sage to change my info in his evaluation. I imagined it…. Sylvie—major threat. I puffed out my chest and started walking toward my bed. Then I stubbed my toe and got yanked back to reality. I would always be Sylvie—unknown, no matter what I do. I sighed. Why does the truth have to burn so much?

**A/N: So how do you like it? Hopefully this will bring in more reviews! I am not going to submit the next one until I get at least one review…please! I know this doesn't have much action in it but trust me I am going to put a lot of action in this book! Please read! And check out lilmisstalksalot1211! She has a couple hunger games books also! Please review! Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I didn't get one, I got two reviews! (Thank you lilmisstalksalot1211!) And again read her stories, they are really good! I'm sorry if these parts are boring but I will try to make them as action-filled as I can until the games start! **

**I do not own the hunger games**

_A baby with fuzzy blonde hair started crying, its beautiful blue eyes screwed into tiny slits as fat tears rolled down its face. A pair of strong arms appeared and picked up the hysterical baby, trying to comfort it. A haunting tune was played and the baby slowly fell asleep, exhausting from crying. The arms lovingly laid the baby down in its crib and tucked the baby in. A pair of hurried footsteps suddenly was heard. Each thump of the footsteps seemed to shake the image and the pair of arms looked around, obviously scared. Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream filled the air._

I jolted awake and let out a strangled wail. I quickly covered my mouth and groaned. I hadn't had nightmares like these since Mom…. Never mind that. Where was I anyway? Suddenly the past 24 hours came rushing back at me and I sighed. I was competing in the hunger games. Yippee. A sudden knock at my door made me jump (yes, I jumped while lying down) in surprise. Byrd's annoying voice filtered through the door.

"Are you ready yet, darling?"

"Um…um yeah... Just a second!" I quickly scrambled for something to wear and my eyes located my dress from yesterday. What the heck. I threw it on and pulled my tangled hair back in a low ponytail.

"Honey hurry up you are late!" I am pretty sure that I was cursed with being always being late. I don't think I have _ever_ been on time. And when you are the mayor's daughter, that doesn't go well. I threw open the door and smiled at him.

"Ready!" I announced. He looked at me in dismay.

"That-those are the clothes you wore yesterday!" He sputtered appalled at my clothing decision.

"So?" The truth was, I wasn't that into fashion, or anything like that. Dad just gave me clothes and I wore them.

"So? You can't be going to breakfast looking like that!"

"Breakfast! You got me up, and made me rush because of breakfast!" I couldn't believe it. Byrd was way more annoying than I had thought. He gave me a disapproving look and pointed back into my room as if to say, _go back in there and change right now, young lady! _I thumped back in my room and pulled out a pair of khaki shorts and a t-shirt. I didn't want Sage to think I dressed like royalty all day, every day. I came back out and breezed past Byrd. Smiling as I watched his face tighten in horror when he saw my choice of clothing. I ran down to the dining room before he could stop me.

"And I thought she would have manners, being the mayor's daughter." I heard him mumble behind me.

Sage and Pica were already there piling food on their plate. Pica looked a lot better than yesterday, and she was even wearing socks that matched! Bonus! I slid into one of the seats and gaped at the amount of food there was set up. You might be thinking that I saw this much food every morning, right? Wrong! I haven't even had breakfast since the last hunger games. One of our major distributer's sons was reaped and killed. The major distributer killed himself soon after from sorrow. Since then, food has been hard to come by. Not as hard to come by as Elana's and Sage's families, but harder than usual. I shoved food in my mouth willy nilly until I experienced the satisfying feeling of being full. Pica looked up at us.

"I am sorry for acting…less than welcoming yesterday, I was very distressed. I beseech that you forgive me so that I may train you to compete in the hunger games." I'm pretty sure that my mouth was catching flies. Was this the same person? Had the capital replaced Pica with an identical clone in the middle of the night? I looked over to see Sage slack-jawed also.

"Uh… there's no need to apologize… we forgive you." I stuttered.

"Good, today is the opening chariot run where all of the capital will get to see you! We are about to dock in the capital itself anyway!" I looked out the window, expecting to see a glittering mound of stone rising up from the ground. Unfortunately all I saw was a whole lot of nothing.

"We are not here yet! We still have…" She glanced at her watch, "About 4.78967 seconds left!"

**(A/N I know, I know, I just wanted to show how fast the capital trains were.)**

**4.78967 seconds later**

"Wow!" Sage gasped, peering out the window. I think that was the first time I had heard him speak since we have been on the train! Anyway, "wow" pretty much summed up the capital. Its gleaming marble buildings rose up higher than the clouds. The pinpricks of people making their way around the enormous place made it look hypnotizing and fascinating. It was the biggest thing I have ever seen. A giant banner was visible as we made our way closer. In bright red letters it said, _WELCOME TRIBUTES! _For some reason, the red reminded me of blood. People were crammed near the entrance and cheered when our train came in. Sage flattened himself next to the window, looking like a deer in headlights. Since I was used to crowds, I happily waved back to the people. All too soon the train had stopped and we were ushered out of it and into the strange looking building. Pica escorted me one way, and Byrd escorted Sage the other. I knew that soon people would be poking and prodding me to get me ready for the chariots. It would probably a girls dream to be able to get a full makeover for free. Although, only one thought entered my brain as I was pushed into a new strange room: Save me now!

One hour later of pain, and soreness I was at base one. They had struggled through my rat's nest of hair and ripped off all of the other hair on my body. My skin felt raw and my eyes watered from having drops put in them to get rid of my bloodshot eyes. My face hurt when they had mad my acne disappear using this type of laser machine. I felt like I was burning all over. Forget the hunger games! They could just do this to torture all of the kids instead! I collapsed on the small hospital bed and groaned when my raw flesh touched the delicate fabric. The aliens (my prep team…don't ask) as I liked to call them, hovered around me. The only way I could tell them apart was the color of their hair. I also forgot their names which I used their hair to fix also. Bright purple grabbed a pick and started yanking my eyebrows off. Puke green picked up a comb and tried to tackle my hair _again_. Finally, the job of getting the grime off my face was taken by blinding white.

"Blinding white?" I asked "When is my actual stylist going to be here?"

"I told you!" She said in her thick capital accent, "My name is not blinding white! It is Adrika!"

"Yeah, yeah, potato, tomato. Wait, is it potato, potato? Whatever! Anyway, you didn't answer my question."

"He will be here when he is here!" Suddenly, the door opened and my stylist walked in. His eyebrows were drawn in but he drew them too high so that it looked like he was always surprised. He smelled thickly of wet dog and I choked when I breathed in the smell. He had a trendy coat with ironed pants on. To complete the look he had glasses with no lenses and a bright pink scarf.

"Alfeo is in the building!" He cried. He took one look at me and jumped back in mock horror. "Yeesh! Is this the boy or the girl? Ha ha ha ! Just kidding sweetheart!" His laugh sounded like a dolphin dying and I immediately despised him. "Now shoo shoo!" He cried waving his hands at my prep team. They scattered and sprinted out the open door. He paced circles around me, like a hawk.

"Now, I assume that you know that the costumes are based on your districts product? Correct?" I nodded. "Your district is transportation…so…I have come up with a blank!"

"But you and Sages stylist were supposed to think of an idea before now!" I yelled, fear clutching my chest.

"Oh right, right!" He seemed to be searching his brain for what they had talked about. He snapped his fingers. "Got it!" He smiled evilly and opened a closet in the far corner of the room. When I looked at it, my face paled.

"I am not wearing that!" It was a glittering dress that sparkled everywhere! I was the one who always tried to lay low. That dress was like a beacon yelling, look at me! "How is that supposed to represent transportation!"

"You'll see!" He replied mysteriously.

I was looking at this strange creature in the mirror. She was wearing a long sparkling dress with red ruby heels. Her hair was curled, bouncy and tangle-free. She had a hint of makeup on, that was also sparkly, and she actually looked pretty. Oh wait, that creature was me and I was _never_ pretty. Alfeo stood next to me. He was actually starting to grow on me, yet his jokes were horrendous.

"What is Sage going to wear?" I questioned. For some reason I just couldn't picture Sage in a sparkly suit without cracking up.

"He will wear a plain suit, with no sparkles. We thought that sparkles would sort of ruin his image."

"Yeah you were right"

"Are you ok on what is going to happen?" I gulped. I was really nervous and did not want to do what Alfeo had told me to.

"Are you sure that it is safe?" I squeaked.

"Yes, yes and remember, just press this button." He pointed to a small, almost invisible button on my hip. I nodded. Why did I keep on thinking that this was going to blow up in my face?

Our turn next. Our turn next. Our turn next. My heart was going a hundred miles a minute. I could tell that Sage was sweating also.

"Ready?" he whispered.

"No." I countered truthfully. He nodded.

"Me neither." All of a sudden I heard

"District six! Transportation!" I took a deep breath. Our chariot lurched forward.

"Remember to keep physical contact or it won't work!" I heard Alfeo whisper behind me. I gripped Sages hand and nodded. Breathe. Breathe. Finally we came out of the darkness and the lights almost blinded me. Flashes were everywhere. People were all over, waving and cheering for us. We made it to the exact middle of the road and I looked at Sage. It was time.

"One, two, three." I breathed. At the same exact time, we both pressed our buttons. "Thwap!" I couldn't see anything anymore. The world had melted away and in its place was a blur of white and some red. The only thing I felt was Sages hand pressed against mine. Finally, I could see again. The first thing I saw was an empty chariot in the very middle of the show. The citizens of the Capital had no idea that we had just transported behind them. I heard peoples astonished voices as they wondered what happened to us. I smiled and lifted my hand that was clutching Sages. People gasped and then applauded as they saw us behind them. We had just traveled by teleportation! I couldn't believe it! It had actually worked! I could tell it was time to get back to the chariot. Both Sage and I pressed our buttons again. The temporary blur of white and red startled me. The only thing I felt was…nothing. I gasped and glanced down in horror. Sage was no longer holding my hand. Terror gripped me as I realized the teleportation device could throw me anywhere! I could travel to the bottom of the ocean! Why couldn't our suit have just been a costume and not a teleportation device! The white faded and I braced myself for whatever I would see.

As my eyes adjusted I saw a young woman in a badly lit room. The only other thing was a small crib in the corner. The woman turned around and I saw terror and fear in her eyes. I did a double take when I saw her face. No it couldn't be! I couldn't go back in time…could I? A figure suddenly jumped on the woman and pinned her down. I tried to move to save her, but my feet felt like they were glued to the floor.

"You have failed us Eleanor!" the figure snarled. "You have failed everyone! You don't deserve to live!"

"No please!" The woman begged. "Please, give me one more chance!"

"You are out of chances, Eleanor!" The world started blurring again. No! No! Come back! It was too late; I was already seeing white tinges to things, meaning I was traveling again. Mom! Come back! The last thing I heard was a high-pitched scream. Then everything went black.

**A/N: What do you think? I decided to leave on a cliff-hanger so you will just have to wait until I update again to figure out what happens :) (Evil smile!) By the way, if you review, this would update a lot sooner. Cough Cough. Anyway again, check out lilmisstalksalot1211 and leave comments on how you want me to do my story. **


	4. Chapter 4

** A/N: Some people have been requesting me to update soon so I decided to just update today. Remember, review and check out lilmisstalksalot1211 who helped me with some of the ideas in this chapter. The action is coming soon so don't worry!**

** I don't own the hunger games.**

My head felt like it was on fire. I struggled to open my eyes but theyfelt like they were glues shut**. **The rest of my body felt numb and my breathing was fast and shallow. I heard frantic whispers all around me.

"She's awake! Her heart beat is getting faster!"

I groaned loudly and tried, yet again, to open my eyes. When I finally pulled them open, bright lights momentarily blinded me. I squeezed my eyes shut again. There was a flurry of activity and I could feel something stuck in my arm. I yanked my eyes open again and found myself staring into bright sea-blue eyes. I only knew of one person who had those kinds of eyes, Mom. Mom had come back! She wasn't dead! I felt someone holding my hand and knew that she was the one holding it.

"Mom?" I croaked weakly.

"Oh, dear she's hallucinating!" A crisp, clear female voice announced. As my eyes got used to the light, I realized that the eyes weren't my mom's…they were Sages. I never noticed how amazingly similar their eyes were. My gaze drifted down to my hand which was clenched around Sages giant, muscular one. He looked embarrassed and immediately dropped it. I felt dejected when he let go of my hand but I just told myself that it was because Sage and I were becoming friends, end of story. I looked up at all of the capital nurses in lab coats bustling around my bed.

"Where…where am I?" I stuttered, even though it was pretty obvious where I was.

"Hospital." Sage mumbled simply and ducked his head. Suddenly a woman with dark brown hair pulled into a ponytail swam into my view.

"Sweetheart, can you wiggle your toes for me?" I felt stupid but I wiggled my toes, like the obedient little kid I was. After a while they unhooked my arm from the IV and let me walk around to test my motor skills or something like that. I kept on telling them that I felt fine but they wouldn't listen to me. Finally, after what must have been hundreds of tests, they let me get changed into regular clothes and allowed me to go to my room. I noticed that Sage had disappeared during my tests and I wondered where he went. As I was leaving the hospital I saw Pica outside and ran to her. She still seemed coherent which was good. I was frantic to find out what had happened at the chariots. No one in the hospital had told me a thing.

"Pica…" She cut me off.

"I know that you have a lot of questions but I will tell you what happened on the way to your room. And I don't want any interruptions, ok?" I nodded. "Well, when you started to teleport back to the chariot, your hand slipped from Sages just as you pressed your buttons. Everyone expected to see both of you in the chariot again, but only Sage appeared there. When Alfeo **(her stylist, in case you forgot)** realized what had happened, he told some peacekeepers and all of the citizens and tributes were sent to their rooms."

She took another deep breathe. "The peacekeepers looked all over the capital for you but couldn't find you anywhere. Finally, they had agreed to pick another girl tribute from district six. Just then, Sage ran up to us yelling that you had appeared in district six's room." She glanced at me, her bright green eyes looking as if she could see right through me. "You weren't breathing." I gasped. I didn't notice how close to death I had been. We took another turn and I found myself at a glistening glass elevator. "We are on level six."

"How long was I out?" I whispered as Pica pressed the glowing six on the metal pad.

"I don't know…6, 7 hours." I slid down the elevator wall and covered my face with my hands.

"I told Alfeo that I just wanted a regular dress!" I said angrily. Pica laughed and pulled me up.

"What's done is done. You should be thankful that Sage found you. By the way, he stayed by your side all night." She glanced at out of the corner of her eye and gave me a knowing smile. "He's a keeper."

"We are just friends." I said, feeling my face grow hot and red. "To tell you the truth, he despised me before I was reaped. I think he just feels sorry for me." The elevator pinged and opened on our flight.

"You have about two hours to get some sleep and then you have to get ready for training." She chirped as I quietly opened my bedroom door. I didn't even bother getting dressed. I just plopped on the feathery mattress and drifted into a long dreamless sleep.

And when I say a long sleep, it means two short hours. I was awakened by the most annoying alarm clock ever, Byrd.

"Get up! Get up!" He screeched. I grumbled and pulled a pillow around my ears.

"I almost just died! Give me some slack!" I screamed.

"I don't care if you are about to die, if you almost died, or if you are already dead, just get up now!" I grudgingly got up and stayed in the clothes I had fallen asleep in. I pulled a brush through my hair once or twice and yanked it into a ponytail. Finally I threw the door open and floated into the dining room. Sage, Alfeo, Pica, and Sages stylist are already there helping themselves to breakfast. Pica cleared her throat as Byrd comes in and also takes a seat.

"Today is training. If you already know your talent, please don't show it in front of the other tributes. Save that for the individual training. If you don't know your talent, just try to get to all the stations." She looks pointedly at me. "Got it?"

"Yeah." I say, shoving food into my mouth. Sage simply nods. Pica looks at the black watch on her arm.

"Well, we might as well get an early start." She stands up motioning us to the elevator. I glance longingly at the rest of the food, but I stand up and head to the elevator with Sage and Pica. Just as we were about to get in, something on Pica's waist beeps. She pulls it out and taps some buttons on it. "Oh, guys change of plans. I won't be able to escort you to the training center." She slips the device back on her waist. She sticks her hand in the elevator and presses the star button. The glass dome slowly goes down. It reminded me of the domes that took tributes in to the hunger games. I shivered.

Sage was just standing there looking outside the window. The silence was more than I could bear.

"Um, so, how are you?" I said, breaking the uncomfortable silence. He was about to answer when the elevator door opened a floor down. It looked like district five was getting an early start also. A girl with mysterious gray eyes and flowing brown hair stepped on, closely followed by a boy with light brown hair and hazel eyes. I struggled to remember their names from Sages sheet. I think the boy was named Basil and the girl…Felicity? The elevator started to go down slowly again. The boy outstretched his hand to me. I took it and we shook hands.

"Hi, I'm Basil and this is Fern." He gestured to the girl.

"I'm…"

"Sylvie." He interjected, throwing me a dazzling smile. "I remember you from the reaping." He turned to Sage, also outstretching his hand for a handshake. Sage completely ignored him. I was surprised, because on Sages sheet he wrote that Basil could be a possible ally. Basil's smile disappeared and he ran his fingers through his hair. I was surprised Basil was being so nice. I mean this was _the hunger games_! In a few days we would be trying to kill each other. Basil turned to me again. "Are you all right? No one could find you last night. I only knew that you were ok because my mentor told me this morning." His voice was filled with sincerity and concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I replied, lamely. I noticed that he was fairly muscled and he was wearing a plain t-shirt and pants. He threw me another dazzling smile that knocked the breathe out of me. Finally, the elevator shuddered to a stop. We all headed to the door with the sign that said training facility. I noticed that we were below ground level and my heart started to race. I have never been good below ground.

"Are you ok?" Basil whispered to me. I nodded, touched that he had noticed. Inside the facility was an array of ropes, animals, and plants to just name a few of the objects. Some peacekeepers came over and taped our district number on our backs. We were the first tributes in. After a few tense minutes, district 1 and 2 came in. My heart almost stopped. They were almost twice the size of me. They looked well-fed and muscular. Finally, all the other tributes slowly trickled in. Most of them looked like district 1 and 2, but some of them looked even smaller than me, which was reassuring.

A woman came in and explained what the different stations were. I wasn't paying attention. All of a sudden the tributes broke off and started toward the different stations. I headed toward the rope tying station since no one else was at it. The man there explained some different knots and then handed me a rope. I easily did one of the advanced knots. He looked surprised.

"That was really good." I heard behind me. I jumped and whirled around. Standing there was a tiny girl from district three. "Canna." She said confidently. "My names Canna."

"I'm Sylvie." I answered cautiously. I still didn't trust her.

"How did you do that?" She asked, pointing at the knot in my hand. I laughed.

"Well, one time my dad gave me this awful dress that I had to wear to a meeting of some sort." I blabbered. "And to make it stay on I had to do about five different knots. One of them was this." I finished.

"Wow!" she said, her eyes shining. "Can you teach me?"

The rest of the day was a blur. I went around with Canna and did most of the harmless stations. I avoided the physical ones, knowing that I would just make a fool of myself. When the day was almost over, Canna pulled me over to a hand-to-hand combat station. She said we could fight each other, just for fun. I reluctantly gave in. When it was our turn I walked up to the mat and waited for Canna. Canna was about to come in, but the woman there stopped her.

"Stop. The girl already has a partner to fight." What! I turned around. Sage was there on the mat, waiting for the fight to begin. Wonderful. I was going to be beaten to a pulp by Sage. Just wonderful. The whistle blew and Sage threw himself at me. I quickly sidestepped him as he swooshed by me. I could tell I had made him angry when he turned to face me again. In the blink of an eye, his fist was flying at me. The world seemed to slow down. I stepped to the side and grabbed Sages wrist. Using all my strength I flipped him over on his back. Another whistle blew, meaning I had beat Sage. I couldn't believe it! What had happened!

Sage pulled himself up and scowled at me.

"How…how?" He sputtered angrily.

"I have no idea!" I answered truthfully. I heard cackling laughter and looked over to see the tributes from 1 and 2 banded together and laughing. The boy's from 3 and 8 were with them also. If I remembered correctly, they all had volunteered and been a major threat. I narrowed my eyes at them. Careers. To my surprise they headed over to me. They walked right past Sage as if he didn't exist. The boy from 1 smiled, his perfect white teeth glinting.

"I'm Sorrel. That's Alyssum, Ember, Darrel, Dusk, and Comet." He muttered gesturing to the rest of the Careers. "We saw what you did to tough guy over here and wondered if you wanted to join us." What! Were my ears working correctly? The careers wanted me to join them? I was about to say no way, when I thought of the benefits. If I join the careers, I might actually come out alive! I didn't know what to do. Suddenly I saw Canna's tiny head peeping out from behind the careers. She looked scared of me. That made my decision for me.

"No thanks! No offense but I'd rather fall off a cliff than join you! "I said, smirking.

"You're going to regret this!" Sorrel said, threateningly.

"In your dreams!" I sashayed to Canna and went to the fire-starting station. Even though it hadn't sounded like it, I was terrified. Canna could feel me trembling.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"No problem."

"Darrel used to be my boyfriend," she continued "But I dumped him, so this is his way of revenge." I hugged her.

"Don't worry. You will be ok."

"Nice fighting!" A familiar masculine voice said behind me. I smiled and turned around.

"Hey, Basil." Just seeing him made my heart speed up.

"It's time to go back to our rooms." Basil said.

"Ok." On our way back up to our rooms I purposely tried to get in an elevator with Basil in it. Fortunately, I did. Unfortunately, Sage was also in it. Awkward. Sage took one look at me and stiffened, remembering how I embarrassingly defeated him. Basil seemed to notice the tension also. He punched 5 and 6 on the metal plate.

"Basil, what stations did you do today?" I started. Basil opened his mouth but Sage but him off.

"He did nothing productive. All he did was stay around the plants station, watching the careers, hoping that they would invite him to be with them!" Basil's jaw tightened.

"What is that supposed to mean?" He spat at Sage.

"It means you're a little girl who knows the only way you can survive is to join the careers!"

"Do you have a problem with me!" This was getting way out of hand.

"Guys, guys, stop!" I cried.

"Sylvie, get outa this." Sage growled.

"You're just afraid that she is going to kick your butt like she did in hand-to-hand combat!"

"Guys! You can go at each other when you are in the hunger games! Until then can't you at least pretend to be friends?" I yelled. Finally, the elevator slid open on the fifth level. Basil stopped and looked at me.

"Sorry you had to see that Sylvie." He apologized. He leaned forward and for a second I thought he was going to kiss my cheek but he glanced at Sage and immediately straightened up. With that, he spun on his heel and left the elevator. The silence was stony as the elevator made its way to level six.

"I don't trust him, Sylvie." Sage finally grumbled. "After the chariot's he acted completely different than he did today."

"Well, maybe that was because he was nervous for me." I replied. I refused to believe that Basil was anything short from amazing. Finally, the elevator was at our level and sprinted inside. I ran to my room and sat down, my face in my hands. What had just happened? I thought about what Sage had said about Basil. It couldn't be true. Sage was just mad because I beat him in combat. Right?

A little while later I joined everyone for dinner. Sage wasn't there and when I looked at his seat questioningly Alfeo spoke up.

"He has decided that he will eat dinner in his room." Of course. Sage was still embarrassed about me beating him. After dinner I immediately took a shower and lay down in my bed. I was beat. My eyes felt like lead. I slowly drifted off to sleep…

_I felt warm arms encircle me. I felt safe and loved. I looked around to see Basil comforting me. I felt safe and happy. Suddenly Basil's face contorted and changed until Sage was now holding me. Instead of his usual scowl, he was smiling at me. I felt warm and bubbly inside. Sage's skin started to bubble and Sorrel was now the one holding me, the head of the careers. I squirmed, trying to get away but he was too strong. He leaned down and whispered in my ear._

_"I told you, you would pay!"_ _I felt a sharp pain in my gut. I looked down in horror to see that Sorrel had stabbed me. I screamed as the pain overwhelmed my senses. Sorrel let go of me and laughed. Suddenly Sorrel wasn't the one laughing at me anymore, it was President Snow. His head was tilted back in laughter._

_"Help! Please help!" I screamed. He grinned evilly at me. He reached out and pushed me so that I was falling down a deep dark hole. My dad's words echoed in the hole as I fell: _

_"You CANNOT trust the capital!" _

**A/N: Remember review to give me feedback and suggestions for the next chapter! I, again, am sorry for the lack of action, but it will come don't worry. As always check out lilmisstalksalot1211! Please review! **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hi everybody! Thanks you so much for reviewing! Here is a shout-out to everyone who did.**

**HGFan ~ Thanks so much for reviewing!**

**Prim12~ Also thanks for reviewing… twice! Awesomeness! I read some of your stories and they are really good! Also thanks for making this story one of your favorites!**

**Rainbow Lagoon ~ Thanks for adding this story to your alert list!**

**barbiecat16 ~ Thanks for following this story and also making it one of your favorites!**

**Littlemisstalksalot1211 ~ Thanks so much for reviewing each chapter and helping me with some ideas for my story! Also, thanks for following the story and making it one of your favorites! Also, thanks for making me one of your favorite authors! Everyone check out lilmisstalksalot1211 books! They are really good. **

**Ok now to get back to the story. If you have forgotten, this is the second day of training. Annnd action! (I'm having writers block so I have no idea what to do for this chapter! :P)**

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and waited for then to adjust to the bright lights streaming through the giant glass windows. Since I didn't want to be awakened by Byrd today, I decided to wake up on my own. Yes, you heard me right. Sylvie Jamie Hendrix is _not_ going to be late for breakfast today! While I was wading through my swamp of dirty clothes, I noticed my lavender reaping dress peeping out from under a pair of red leggings. I guess they brought it to my room from the train. Suddenly, I heard knocking in the door.

"No!" I groaned. I had promised myself I wouldn't be late today. As quickly as I could, I threw on some clothes and sprinted to the door, determined to get there before Byrd started honking at me to get ready. I threw open the door and ran head-first into a large, strong object. The force of running knocked me back a few feet and I fell down, sprawled with the heaps of clothes. I knew that the figure I had run into wasn't Byrd. If I ran into him, he would have fallen over like a domino. My breathe caught in my throat as the figure stepped into the room. It was President Snow. My mind immediately flashed back to my nightmare I had. I gulped and scrambled into a standing position.

"Hello, sir!" I command loudly, hoping he wouldn't get mad at me for face-planting into his stomach. His unnatural red lips curl into a cruel smile. He had a mop of white hair with a few streaks of blonde in it and he was wearing a stiff suit. I honestly was surprised he was still alive. He was still president back when the hunger games started! I am pretty sure that the Capital did tons of surgery to

make him live longer.

"Sylvie!" He growled. He looked around for somewhere to sit in my pig-sty, but seeing no available space, he stood. "How are you?" Really? He was asking me how I was?

"Fine, thanks." I replied. I was about to add a snarky comment to it, but I held my tongue.

"Good, good. Do you know why you are here?" I shook my head. "You are here because your father made a terrible mistake." I stiffened. Did President Snow just admit that they had rigged the reaping so my name would be pulled? "But you shouldn't be the one to pay the price, your father should." I didn't like where this was going. "So, if you do as I say, you could hop on a train right now and head home. You can leave this nightmare behind."

"What are you going to tell me I do, _if_ I accept of course?"

"When you accept it, all you have to do slip a tiny pill in your father's food."

"You want me to kill my dad!" I yelled. Sure, my dad is not the nicest, but he is still my dad! I can't just kill him! President Snow's coal black eyes narrowed.

"Not kill, exactly. Just temporarily detain until we deem it fit that he has the right to come back to the world." He probably was trying to throw me off with using as many difficult words as he could.

"No thanks, I'm not the kind of girl who temporarily detains her father." I spat back, surprised at my confidence.

"You're going to regret this." He hissed in my ear. I shivered; those were the same words that Sorrel had growled at me yesterday. President Snow whirled around and haughtily padded out of the room. I fell on the bed, gasping for breath. I had never felt that frightened before. Now I _knew_ that I was going to die in the bloodbath. President Snow would make sure of it. Suddenly Byrd appeared in my line of vision.

"What are you doing? You're late!" I snorted. Figures.

Canna was chattering excitedly in my ear. I had tuned her out. I was too busy assessing the careers. I was still pretty surprised that they had let a district 8 boy with them. He must be really good. I tore my attention away from Sorrel and looked around for the district 8 boy. I found him almost instantly at the knife throwing station. He had short black hair and looked really strong. I watched him as he twirled the knife around his hand and take aim. His hand was a blur as the knife went flying and lodged itself in the dummies head. That explains that! The girl from district 1, Alyssum, skipped over to him.

"Comet, that is so easy! You are practically standing right next to the dummy!" She huffed.

"Let's see you do any better!" Comet growled.

"Fine!" She flipped her glossy golden hair over her shoulder and snatched a petite knife from the pile. I watched her go about five yards away from Comet and narrow her eyes. She did a flip in the air and flicked her wrist, sending the knife spiraling toward the dummy. "Twang!" It sang out as it sank into the dummy, right next to Comet's knife. Wow, no wonder they were the careers.

I turned my attention back to Canna, feeling bad that I have been completely ignoring her. She was jabbering about how she was finally able to start a fire.

"Hey, Canna! Do you want to go over to that station?" I asked, pointing to the knife-throwing station that the careers had just abandoned.

"Ok!" She chirped. We ambled our way over and the woman there regarded us with distaste. She simply pointed at the knives then at the targets and turned without saying a word. I shrugged at Canna and slipped a silver knife into my hands. I walked over to the easiest target and squinted my eyes. I had never done anything like this before. I took a deep breath and whirled my arm at the target. All of a sudden, it felt like the entire world was in slow motion again! I felt the weight of the tiny knife leave my hands at the precise moment I wanted it to. It twisted beautifully, reflecting the lights off of its shiny blade. The world went back to its normal speed and I looked in amazement at the knife, which was embedded right in the dummies heart. Canna looked at me in pure awe!

"Can you show me how to do that!"

The rest of the day went by in a blur. I discovered that I was really good with spears and knives. It was a little freaky how good I was with weapons, given that I had never touched one before today. Before I knew it, I was snuggling under the covers, thinking about my training with the Gamemaker's tomorrow afternoon. I still had no idea what I was going to show them. I would probably just throw some knives around and camouflage my skin.

The next thing I knew, I was lying awake in my bed and sunlight was streaming through the window. I didn't have a nightmare! Yes! Sylvie-1 Nightmares-2. I was finally catching up. I hopped up and padded into the dining room. Pica was talking in hushed whispers to Sage. When she saw me she immediately straightened up and smiled like nothing was wrong.

"Sylvie! Nice to see you on time today!" She winked and my face turned bright red. I plopped in one of the comfy padded chairs and started eating. Pica cleared her throat. "Have, you decided what you will be doing in your private training?" I nodded and swallowed hard.

"I think I will throw some spears at targets and disguise my arm." She nodded

"Sage, how about you?"

"I am just going to throw some weights around and shoot moving targets." He replied.

"Ok that's good. Now remember, get their attention, if you don't you will get a really low score. We both nodded like robots. She quickly ushered us toward the elevator and told us to respect the Gamemakers yada, yada, yada. On our way down, Basil got on the elevator with us like he had on the first day of training. I hadn't seen him at training yesterday which was curios. He smiled at me and goose bumps went up my arm. The tension was still high though, because Sage and Basil had still not resolved their fight only two days ago.

"What are you doing for the individual training?" Basil asked me.

"I can't tell you that!" I laughed. He grinned. His brown hair was slightly ruffled and his hazel eyes looked right into mine. Sage coughed, ruining the moment. Finally, we arrived at the training center. Most of the other tributes were already there. A tiny woman dressed in a peacekeeper uniform came out.

"Sorrel Clark, district 1!" She chirped. Sorrel stood up, a confident smile on his face. After what seemed like hours, the lady came back out and announced for Alyssum to come in. I groaned. It would take forever for it to be my turn. After an eternity, Sage was finally called. For some reason, I felt compelled to give him some support. I grabbed his wrist and he turned around, surprised that I had stopped him.

"You…you do good, ok?" Yeah, I was really motivational. He nodded and started to walk away, but as an afterthought, he turned around again.

"You too." I smiled. We both apparently needed help in the support department. With that he disappeared behind the metal door. My insides were hurting and I felt like I was about to throw up. Finally, my name was called. I stood up slowly, trying not to show the fear on my face. When I went through the doors, I noticed that a group of men and woman were elevated on a platform in the corner. I boldly walked up to them.

"Sylvie Hendrix, district 6." One of them nodded and motioned for me to go. I walked over to the spears and plucked a light one from the pile. I stared at the dummy for a while, trying to calm myself down so I would hit it straight on. I inhaled sharply and threw my arm forward. As, usual, the world went in slow motion as I released the spear. I let it a little bit above my target so that gravity would pull it down into it. I watched with fearful eyes as the spear travelled to the dummy and thunked into it right between the eyes. Yes! I tried not to show happiness on my face as I turned to look at the Gamemakers. They looked genuinely surprised. They were muttering to each other and I caught snippets of a few conversations.

"…mayor's daughter…"

"…thought she wasn't trained…"

"…President Snow…" One of them finally noticed that I was staring at them and ushered the others to be quiet. He leaned forward in his seat.

"Do you have anything else to show us…?" He glanced down at his notebook. "…Sylvie?"

"Yes" I responded, trying to sound strong and confident. I went to the paints and started to camouflage my arm into some grass. I was fairly good at this because at home I mostly painted in my free time. For the rest of my training, I threw more knives and distinguished poisonous berries from nonpoisonous. After I was done, I looked up at them hopefully. I knew I had done really good and would get a good score for this. They let me go and happily skipped to an elevator and let myself up.

Pica, Sage, and Byrd were there waiting for me to come in and tell them how it went. I stepped inside and gave them a thumb's-up. Byrd squealed with delight and Pica broke out into a relived grin. Sage gave me a tiny smile also. Byrd told me to wash up and be ready for the scores to be posted in the evening. I stepped into my shower with a goofy grin on my face. What if I get a 9! Almost all careers get 9's or above! I massaged shampoo into my hair and let the hot water run on my face. I could tell that this was going to be a good score. I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a large fluffy towel around me. I took a hairbrush and started to carefully brush it at first, yet in the end I just yanking it through my tangles. I slipped on a nice pink top and some jeans and went out to join everyone. The results were just starting and my insides whirled with nervousness. The announcer and interviewer, Rishi Ortiz, appeared on the screen.

"Hello Citizens and Tributes! Welcome to the 45th annual hunger games scores!" His sentence was met by screaming capital people in the background. "Now, let's get right in it! Sorrel Clark, district 1… 10!" Sorrels face dominated the screen and a glowing number 10 appeared next to him. My stomach was flopping around all over. I felt like I was going to throw up! Finally they got to district 6. "Sage Langley, district 6… 8!" Pica and Byrd congratulated Sage and turned back to the screen. Suddenly, Alfeo came in through the door.

"Sorry, I'm late!" He called. I didn't even hear him. I didn't hear anyone. I couldn't breathe. My face smiled down at me from the screen as if nothing was wrong. Everything was wrong. Because glistening next to my face, was a giant gold three.

**A/N: Yes, another cliff hanger! In the next chapter I will have the interviews with Rishi Ortiz! And finally in the next will be…..the hunger games! Yay! Remember to review or I won't update! Please don't hate me if this chapter is bad! Review! **


	6. Chapter 6

** A/N: Only lilmisstalksalot1211 reviewed (thanks!) so I thought I would put another chapter in. This is the last chapter before the hunger games starts! Sorry I didn't update sooner but I was on vacation! I won't write the next chapter until I get more reviews please!**

Tears streamed down my face as I sprinted from the room. I could hear Byrd and Pica calling my name, but I ignored them. I slammed my door closed and quickly locked it. I fell to the ground, sobbing. Why? Why had they given me a three? I had done everything perfectly in the training arena! Nobody in the history of the games had ever gotten as low as a three before. Even the little twelve year olds got at least a four. Suddenly, President Snow's ghostly figure appeared in my mind. Of course! He had rigged the training scores and gave me a three, determining that no one in their right mind would sponsor me.

I flopped to my bed and snuggled under the soft, smooth fabric. I wondered why I was even upset. It's not like I had a chance of winning anyway. A small knock on the door startled me out of my daydream.

"Who is it?" I croaked, cursing myself for sounding so weak.

"Sage, can I come in?" Sage's throaty, deep voice rumbled. I nodded, yet realizing he couldn't see me I shouted that he could come in. I pulled myself off the bed and wiped my eyes, hoping he wouldn't notice that they were streaked with red. I ran over to the door and unlocked it, letting Sage in.

"So, you got an eight. That's good right?" I mumbled.

"Yup. So, how are you doing? With your score?"

"I have no idea why they gave me three." I blabbered. "I mean, I hit every target perfectly." He gave me a skeptical look.

"Are you sure that you have no idea why you got a three?" Did he know? Should I tell him?

"Umm…can you keep a secret?" He nodded. I took a deep breath and started telling him the story. I began telling him about my dad yelling that I couldn't trust the capital. I ran through the story, feeling relief to finally have it off my chest. I finally ended with the realization that President Snow must have personally made sure I had gotten a three. I took a deep breath and looked at Sage out of the corner of my eye. I didn't know what I expected him to look like: sad, surprised, angry? He seemed lost in thought.

"What? What is it?" I questioned.

"Well, the President is a high-ranking person. Why would he ask you to kill your father when he could do it himself in a second?" What he was saying did make sense.

"I don't know? What are you implying?"

"Well, either he is just messing with you, not likely, or he wants to blame you for something."

"It doesn't really matter anyway. I am just going to die in the first few minutes of the hunger games." I sighed.

"What makes you so sure of that?" I looked up and saw his beautiful blue eyes gazing into mine.

"Uh…I…um" I stammered. He moved toward me, his lips mere inches from mine. I felt myself move forward also, almost against my will. Bam! The door to the room flung open and Byrd stood behind it silently seething. I leaped away from Sage as if electrocuted. I could feel my cheeks burning.

"It's an outrage!" Byrd bellowed, not seeming to notice how close we were to kissing moments before. "They have no right to give you a three!" I tried to make my expression angry, as though I was also mad at the capital.

"It's all right Byrd. I'm almost over it." I respond.

"Still! The nerve!" He roared. "Anyway, Pica told me to tell you to get some rest. You have Rishi Ortiz's interview tomorrow!" I smiled and told him thanks. Sage and Byrd slipped out of my room and closed the door, leaving me more confused than ever.

I peeled my eyelids open and yawned. I was afraid to go to sleep last night, knowing that once my eyelids closed, the nightmares would plague my mind until morning. I finally had fallen asleep around two. I found myself wondering about the image I had seen while I had tried to transport back to the chariot. I now assumed it was a nightmare, knowing that my mother couldn't possibly be alive. I stretched and threw on a random set of clothes as usual. I knew that today, Pica and Byrd would grill me on what to do in my interview. I ran to the dining room and as usual, everyone was there except me. After I shoved as much food in my mouth as I could, Byrd took me to a private room to show me how to walk in heels and to teach me manners.

He pulled out a pair of light blue pumps from a box that had at least a five inch heel. After hours and hours of pain, he finally instructed me on how to sit down and walk and talk etc. It was extremely painful and boring. After he was satisfied, he told me to go to Pica who would help me on my personality.

Pica inspected me and told me to giggle. Yes, giggle.

"What!?" I boasted. "Why the heck am I supposed to giggle?"

"I wanted to see if you were girly, and obviously that isn't true." I blushed. She walked around me like a vulture. "Hmmmmm… Shy yet dangerous? Sexy? Giddy and happy?" She snapped her fingers. "I've got it! Confident and witty!" Confident and witty? I guess that was me…sort of. "Ok, pretend I'm Rishi, alright?" She instructed.

"Yup!"

"Ok here goes nothing. Now Sylvie, how do you feel are your chances in the 45th annual hunger games?" She asked me in a deep, throaty voice. Confident and witty. Hmmmm.

"I'm sure I am going to win. Most likely everyone else will starve or get blown to pieces within the first five minutes." I answered cockily.

"Perfect!" Pica squealed. "Now, we have to have a sob story for you."

"A sob story?"

"Yeah. Do you have any siblings?" I shook my head. "How about a boyfriend?" I nodded. "Well, just tell Rishi that you love him very much and will do anything to get back to him, alright?"

The next few hours Pica perfected my characteristic and made sure I was ready. Finally, she told me that my crew was waiting to get me ready for the interview. The three bubbly buffoons glided inside and viciously attacked my hair and face. When they were satisfied, they handed me a mirror and chirped that Alfeo would be here to give me my dress in a few minutes. They had braided my hair across both sides of me head and made a bun out of the braids behind my right ear. They left a lock of hair around my face to frame it. It looked amazing. For my makeup, they had swirled red lipstick on my lips and added some blush to extenuate my cheekbones. Mascara was applied on my lashes and a hint of blue eye shadow and eyeliner was also there. It was majestic.

I heard the door squeak open and turned to find Alfeo lugging in a big brown box with him.

"Please, let it not transport me anywhere!" I begged.

"Don't worry, this is a regular dress." He answered, chuckling. He pulled out a sky-blue strapless dress. It puffed out slightly around the waist and, of course, sparkles were covering almost every inch of it.

"It's beautiful!" I breathed. I slipped it on over my head and twirled around in it. I was ready.

I was not ready! I was not ready! I was behind stage, waiting for my turn to get interviewed. Alyssum, the girl from 1, did amazing in her interview, stunning everyone in a velvety red dress. Sorrel also made a commotion with his confidence and tux. The rest of the tributes had gone and Canna had also appeared in a flowing green dress. I was surprised that the tributes from four weren't careers. It was almost always 1, 2, and 4 who paired together. I was also surprised to note that the boy from four was also names Sorrel. How come I didn't notice that before? Rishi made a comment on how he would call the Sorrel from 4 tiny Sorrel because of his height. That comment made the capital citizen roar with laughter. Fern was going on now, the girl from 5. After her Basil would go on, and then it would be my turn! I took deep soothing breaths. Confident and witty. Confident and witty.

I glanced over at Sorrel. He was wearing the same kind color of blue that my dress had, yet he was simply in a tux. I hadn't given much thought to what happened last night. Was it just an accident? I heard Basil's name called and he strutted on the stage with a cool smile. I turned my attention to Rishi. They small-talked for a while and shot clever jokes at each other, laughing hysterically. Basil seemed really cool and happy, as though he was oblivious to the thousands of people staring at him.

"Well, Basil, what do you like most about the capital?" Rishi asked, raising one red eyebrow up so high that it disappeared underneath his wig.

"It has a lot of gadgets that I have never encountered before. I also got to meet a lot of new people!"

"Hey, with a face like yours, it's hard to believe the girls aren't falling all over you!" Rishi added, playfully. Basil chuckled.

"Actually, there is this girl that I have a crush on. I met her a few days ago and can't get her out of my mind." I was surprised to notice that his cheeks started burning maroon red. I wondered who the mystery girl was. Despite myself, I already had a grudge against her. Not that I had a crush on Basil! I mean, this was The Hunger Games for goodness sake! It wasn't like you went prancing around in the flowers with another tribute while romantic music was playing in the background.

"Well, I'm sure everyone is dying to know who this girl is. Am I right?" Rishi directed the last part at the huge audience. His statement was met with a roar of agreement and people chanting for Basil to tell them. Basil put his hands out to calm the crowd.

"I can't tell you, but I can only say this; her arrival in the chariots was very…dazzling." Dazzling? Wait a second! Basil was looking right at me with those beautiful puppy dog eyes. He meant me! I looked to find my surprised, and slightly pink, face projected on every screen in the auditorium. I ducked my head as I heard the buzzer sounding Basil's interview was over. People were screaming my name and Basil's. I still couldn't believe my ears! Basil had said that he liked me! He liked me!

"Ms. Hendrix, please come with me to the stage!" A gruff voice rumbled, startling me out of my daydream of flowers and romantic music. I had to go on stage! After what Basil just said! A peacekeeper came over and dragged me over to the stage, practically chucking me in my seat. All of the lights in the crowd were overwhelming, my ears were buzzing with a strange noise. How was I supposed to say that I had a boyfriend back home now that Basil had pronounced his love for me in front of all of Panem!? Rishi's fiery-red wig wobbled a little as he whirled around to look at me. I watched his mouth move and words flowing into my ears that didn't register in my brain. Suddenly, I knew what I had to do. My ears unclogged some and my eyes stopped flashing. I realized that Rishi had asked me how I felt about getting reaped and was waiting for my answer. Confident and witty. Confident and witty.

"Well, I guess I was a little surprised, but I know that I will win." I was shocked to find myself saying.

"You seem very confident! What about you being the mayor's daughter? Do you think you have an advantage?"

"I guess you could call it an advantage. Even if I wasn't the mayor's daughter, I still would have a fair chance at winning." I couldn't believe what was coming out of my mouth. I only hoped that Rishi wouldn't ask about my horrible training score.

"You seem very sure of yourself, considering your training score." Of course!

"Well, I was very surprised with my score! Maybe the Gamemakers thought that my talent was so great that they didn't want any of the other tributes to make me a target." Rishi nodded in agreement. I could tell he was just bursting to ask me about my love life. The crowd wanted him to also, as they were screaming it at him every two seconds. After some talk about my chariot ride, he finally got to the good stuff.

"Sylvie, do you have a special someone back home?"

"Well, I do…sorta. But no one wants to know about that." That drove the crowds crazy. They practically screamed at me to elaborate. I held up my hands in surrender. "I did have a boyfriend, but I could tell he was always cheating on me. He never even tried to hide it." I sighed dramatically. "He was probably overjoyed when I got reaped. It was an opportunity to go out with other girls even more publicly." Sympathetic noises came from the crowd.

"Well, everyone wants to know: do you have a crush on Basil?" I blushed right on cue and I ducked my head.

"Um, yeah." I whispered, blushing even harder. That drove the crowd raving mad, some people were even crying. The buzzer beeped and I hopped up, to the dismay of the citizens who wanted details. I collapsed on my chair and saw Basil smiling sexily at me. I gave a tiny smile back and sank in the comfort of the chair. I heard Sage go up and felt slightly sorry for him. It would be hard to follow an act like that. I still couldn't believe what had just happened! Pica was probably about to kill me for ruining my sob story. I felt a little bad for Kale, my boyfriend. This would give him a lot of bad publicity. I turned my attention back to Rishi and Sage. They were doing playful banter still and his time was almost up.

"Is there anyone in particular you want to go home to?" Rishi asked, quickly glancing at the clock.

"Well, there is this girl. We have been friends ever since before I can remember and…and I think I like her more than a friend." More than a friend? Elana! I knew something was up between them! The buzzer sounded and the crowd of citizens groaned. Sage plopped back into his chair, avoiding eye contact with anyone. It was surprising that Sage had a romantic bone in his body. He usually had as much emotion as a rock.

The rest of the interviews whizzed by. I learned that Comet, from district nine, was amazing at combat and he was certain he was going to win. I wouldn't put it past him. I also learned that the tributes from district twelve were siblings. That pulled the heartstrings of the crowd. Finally, it was over and some peacekeepers came over and escorted us off the stage. Basil immediately disappeared in an elevator before I could talk to him. My stomach flopped when I realized the next time I would be seeing him would be in the arena. I was about to enter another elevator when I noticed Sage slinking off into the shadows. Where was he going? Only one way to find out! I sneakily followed him through a series of doors and hallways until he stopped at an enormous pair of beautiful metal doors. He stepped inside and I stuck my foot in the way of the door so that it didn't close all of the way. Suddenly, the putrid stench of blood and roses filled my nostrils. No! He couldn't. I heard a fragment of hushed whispers and tried to hear what they were saying.

"Well….do…says….Sage?" I caught snippets of President Snow saying.

"No…can't…Sylvie…Hunger…..why?" Sage said. I wished I could hear better! What were they saying about me?

"Don't….or else…..father…got it?" President Snow's whispers responded. I heard Sage grunt in agreement. I leaped away from the door. Sage was in cahoots with President Snow!? That little traitor! I heard heavy footsteps coming my way. I sprinted for what I hoped was the correct way. After searching for a while, I finally found an elevator and punched the number six button. I couldn't believe Sage! I was going to make sure to kill him first tomorrow. Tomorrow. The Hunger Games starts tomorrow. I buried my face in my hands. This was all too much. I ran into my room when the elevator stopped, not wanting to give anyone time to critic me about my interview. I fell into bed and slipped into a deep restless sleep.

_A beautiful woman with bright blue eyes was crying, her hand over her heart. One of her arms had a scar on it that looked fresh. She seemed to hear something and immediately straightened up. A tall man in a crisp clean suit walked in, holding a sobbing baby. He didn't meet the woman's eyes even though she wanted him to. _

_"This way Mrs. Hendrix." The man said, still not meeting the woman's eyes. The woman grabbed the sleeve of his suit._

_"Rob, is that really the way you are going to address your wife?" She cried frantically. The man's face reddened._

_"Mrs. Hendrix, this way." She tearfully obliged. He placed her in a glass elevator and turned around, without looking back. The elevator went down and a loud voice was heard over the speakers._

_"Let the 31__st__ annual Hunger Games begin!" _

I leaped up. Another nightmare. So much for my no nightmare streak. My stomach clenched as I realized what day it was. Time for the hunger games.

It was all happening too fast. My heart was going unhealthily fast. Byrd had come into my room, trying to cheer me up to no avail. I managed to stuff some bland tasteless food in my mouth. Finally, Byrd gave me a tearful goodbye which I was almost certain was fake. Even though he was a pain in the butt, I was going to miss him.

Then Alfeo came in and handed me some gray and black clothes to change into. There was a back short-sleeve shirt and gray sweatshirt. The gray pants fit me snugly and were easy to move around in. On every piece of clothing, a number six was printed in white writing. Alfeo came back inside after I was dressed and put my hair up in a bun with braids leading on the side to it. I guess this hairstyle was my signature look. Alfeo bid me goodbye, telling me that I would see him right before I was going to be placed in the games. I gave him a hug anyway. I heard a knock on the door and quickly answered it. It was Sage. I was relieved to see that Pica was right behind him. I still didn't trust Sage.

"Ok guys, here are some hints, usually most kids die of hunger, disease, or dehydration. Find food and water quickly and if you have a cut, try to wrap it up with something. Also, try not to go into the bloodbath unless you know that you can get out alive. Sometimes, almost half of the tributes are killed in the bloodbath. Alright?" We nodded mutely. I think that if I tried to talk, my breakfast would come right out of my stomach and on the floor. "I will take Sylvie first." She proclaimed, gesturing for me to follow her. I quickly padded outside next to her and found myself looking at a capital airship. Pica turned me to face her.

"You get a spear, alright? They will have one there. Try to get some supplies, but don't go in too far." Again, I nodded. "Also, thanks for…getting me out of my…well…trance."

"You're welcome." I answered hoarsely. She wrapped me in a bone-crunching hug and sent me into the ship. When I walked in, I noticed half of the tributes already there. A peacekeeper escorted me to my correct seat. I couldn't do this! I was going in The Hunger Games! I felt myself starting to hyperventilate and tried to calm down. I heard whimpering and looked to see the Sorrel from district 4 crying. I noticed that the other Sorrel from district 1 was staring at him with an evil glint in his eye. For some reason, I knew that tiny Sorrel from 4 was going to die today. And I knew just who was going to kill him.

After the rest of the tributes had filed in, we were strapped to our chairs like we were going on a roller-coaster. My dad had told me all about roller-coaster. Apparently, people in the past, used roller-coaster's for fun and amusement. I wish I could have gone on a roller-coaster. Another peacekeeper was coming around with a large needle. She jabbed it in each person's arm and I noticed that almost everyone winced in pain. When it was Canna's turn, I gave her a reassuring smile and she immediately smiled back. When the peacekeeper got to me, she explained that they were injecting a location chip in my arm. She squeezed my arm and thrust the large needle into my skin. Finally she pulled away and went to the next person.

I couldn't do this! I heard a thumping noise that signaled that we had landed. The peacekeepers directed us where to go, one by one. Finally, I saw Alfeo and ran into his arms. He pulled me into my private elevator room and tried to stop me from crying. Why was I crying? I'll give you three guesses. That I am going into the hunger games? Ding ding ding! You're the winner!

He patted my hair and told me that I was going to win. I felt him slip something hard into my pocket. I reached in and pulled out a beautiful crystal. My token! I had forgotten all about it! I placed it in my pocket again and zippered it.

A cool female voice suddenly projected over the speakers.

"Twenty seconds." Alfeo continued to comfort me. I had started shaking uncontrollably.

"Look, Sylvie..." He began. "There is something I need to tell you." He finally said, breaking the silence.

"Fifteen seconds."

"I really shouldn't be but…you have the right to know." He directed me over to the shiny glass elevator and gently pushed me inside.

"Ten seconds." What was he talking about? I gave him a questioning glance.

"Well, Sylvie, it's just that…I overheard President Snow talking and…"

"Five seconds." This wasn't the best time to tell me whatever he wanted to tell me. Well, I guess it _was_ the only time. The glass elevator doors started to close.

"Two seconds."

"Your father….. is dead." Alfeo blurted. What! The elevator moved upwards. NO! Not now! ! No! I was immediately blinded by light as fresh clean air filled my nostrils. My face paled as I looked at my surroundings.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, let the 45th annual Hunger Games begin!"

**A/N: Another cliff-hanger…sort of. Please review guys! I seriously won't write the next chapter if you don't review! Also, if you want to give me any advice, feel free! Please review! :) **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N**: **Sorry for the delay guys but I have been really busy. Here is chapter 7 (a lot of people die in this one!) Please review! **

My heart was pounding way too fast to be healthy. I felt my breath come in ragged gasps as my eyes skittered around the landscape in front of me. What had Alfeo said? Was he working for the Capital? Did he just want to make me feel sad and crazy right before the games started? Or is it true… My dad being dead…. I blinked my eyes, trying to refocus. What was I doing! The hunger games was about to start! I, again, surveyed me surroundings. It looked like it had come straight out of a textbook from school. There were tall glittering buildings everywhere. They rose up high with millions of windows in each one. There were also billboards of women wearing stylish, uncomfortable clothing. I think I remembered the name of this place….Newalk? Something like that. They had actually taken us to the remains of the old world! The only difference from the textbook was that the streets weren't packed with cars. There were no people bustling around, trying to get to work. It was eerie.

I glanced up at the large clock on the cornucopia and realized that I had twenty seconds. Twenty seconds to live. All of the stuff that was essential like food and medicine were piled inside the cornucopia. I knew I wasn't going to try to head there. I looked around at the materials that were closer to me. A few feet away, I saw a jug of water. I positioned myself to head toward it. In front of it was a very small drawstring bag. I calculated that I was the closest to them both. I heard a booming sound. I almost leaped off of my pedestal until I noticed that we still had five seconds. Four. Three. Two. One.

I finally heard the loud cannon, signaling the beginning of the games. I threw myself off of the disk and sprinted as if my life depended on it….because it did. I heard screams and shouts of agony but I ignored them, staring only at the bag and the jug of water. Whoosh! My stomach did a summersault as a knife sailed by, narrowly missing my head. I leaned forward and scooped up the bag and cradled in it the crook of my arm. Now the jug. Bam! A large object smashed into me knocking me to the ground. I struggled to catch my breath as I looked up at my attacker. It was Sage. That little… I took my bag and swung it at his head with all of my might. I was overjoyed to hear a satisfying crack as his head jerked to the side. Using my feet, I threw him off of me and jumped up. The jug was gone! No time to curse at Sage now. I started running in one direction at random. It looked easy to get lost in this place. It was enormous! I threw the bag onto my back and ran for my life.

I heard a thud but I kept on running as fast as I could. Finally, I made it to a place where I thought was far enough away. It looked the same as all of the other buildings. I pushed one of the heavy doors open and stepped inside. There were clothes everywhere. More clothes than I had ever seen in my life! Why was there so much stuff? I turned around and started backing up, gaping at the huge shop. All of a sudden, a hand grabbed my shoulder. On impulse, I whipped my arm around smashed the offender in the face. OW! What was the guy made of, cement? I turned around, ready to fight, when I realized it wasn't a guy, it was a mannequin! An impossibly skinny mannequin who looked amazing in the clothes she had on. Now this was creepy. From far away, she really did look like a real person! I felt my cheeks flush in embarrassment. The faint booms outside shook me from my embarrassment. I counted in my head. Eleven. Thirteen left. I was really surprised I was still alive. I was sure that Sorrel would try to kill me first. He probably was too busy killing Tiny Sorrel.

I shrugged the bag off of my shoulders and opened it to survey its contents. There was an arrow embedded deep in the fabric. That was the thud that I had heard! My hands felt wet and sticky. I jerked them to my line of sight, thinking that they would be covered in blood. I let out a shaky sigh as I realized it was just water. Water! How did I get water on my hands? I picked the bag up again and carefully opened it. The arrow had hit a small silver container and crisp clear water was gushing out of the hole. Darn. I stuck my hand in front of the hole, trying to stem the flow of water. Drops of it were splattering on the floor, turning the pink carpet a dark red. Wait a second…if the arrow had hit the pack right when I was leaving the cornucopia…Oh no! I sprinted to the door and yanked it open. Just as I had thought! The water had been dripping the entire time, leaving a clear trail from the cornucopia to me. I needed to get out of here, fast. I grabbed the arrow and stuck it in my pack. I pulled the container out, hoping to save the remaining water inside. I opened the top and peered inside. There was only about a cup left. No need to save that much. I quickly downed the contents and slid it in my backpack.

I was about to leave, when I noticed a furry blue jacket that another mannequin was wearing. I snatched it and stuffed it in my bag. I took a last look at the strange place before I slipped out the shiny glass doors. I felt refreshed and rejuvenated, ready to get a move on. I had just decided in what direction to move when I heard a mob of voices. Without a sound, I slipped back inside the shop with the clothes and slid inside a rack of shirts. I took my jacket out and used it to cover the white six's on my sleeves. The voices were getting closer. I squeezed my eyes shut, praying that they wouldn't come inside this place. Suddenly, I heard the faint squeak of a door opening and the voices came clear and loud. I took a deep breath and tried not to move.

"Well, where is she?" Sorrel's voice rang out. (Sorrel from district 1) "You told me that you hit the bag she was wearing! You said that water started to drip out of it"

"I did! Cool down! She obviously found out that it was leaking." A crisp girl voice came next. It was most likely Ember, from district two.

"If she found out it was leaking, she would have fixed it and already left!" Alyssum, the girl from one, said.

"No guys wait! The carpet is still soaking! She has to be nearby." Darrel, the boy from two, growled.

"He's right! That means she is nearby…" I could just imagine the evil smile crawling on Sorrels face as he said this. "Span out and look around! I want her dead!" There were murmurs of assent as I heard people moving about looking for me. I slowly let out my breath and took another huge gulp of air. My nose starting itching and aching, but I refrained from scratching it. Suddenly, I felt a sneeze coming. I whipped my hand up and squeezed my nose closed. No! Not now! My eyes fluttered closed. I was going to sneeze. My nose wouldn't listen to me. It was coming…..

"Achoo!" It was barely a sneeze. More of a half sneeze. It was almost as quiet as a puff of air. But it was enough.

"I found her she's over here!" A giant, grubby hand reached in between the shirts, trying to snatch me. I grabbed the arrow in my pack and jabbed it in his hand as hard as I could. "OW!"

I leaped between the clothes and started sprinting toward the door. I wasn't going to make it. They had already seen my coming. Alyssum, Sorrel, Ember, and Comet stood at the entrance grinning wildly. I heard Darrel cuss behind me and I knew that he was about to kill me with the arrow I had shoved in his hand. I stopped, like a deer in headlights. This was it! I was going to die. I saw a mannequin out of the corner of my eye and a plan blossomed in my head. I turned to Darrel and flung the mannequin at him. He obviously wasn't expecting it and stumbled back. That was all I needed. I swung my pack at his head and he crumpled to the ground. Wow! This bag was effective. I turned to the others and time stopped. Well, it didn't stop but it felt like everything was going in slow motion, like it always does. You know same old, same old. My eyes first flickered to an arrow in midair slowly making its way toward me.

I leaped out of the way as it slowly coasted by. Next, my eyes went to a knife, also sailing straight toward my heart. I ducked and looked up to find a spear heading toward my legs. I scooted to the left and grabbed it in the air. Time went back to normal and I turned to the four careers, a weapon in my hand. I deflected two or three more knives and arrows with my spear and finally let my weapon fly. It was headed right at Sorrel. Just as I had hoped, they all scattered. I sprinted for the door and yanked it open breathing deeply as fresh air filled my lungs. I sprinted as hard as I could, in the opposite direction of the store.

I don't know how long I ran, but finally I coasted to a stop right by a beautiful restaurant. My legs hurt and my breath came in fast ragged breaths. My face and hands were scratched up yet I have never felt more alive. I slumped down on bench outside when I heard the Capital's anthem. I directed my eye's to the sky, wondering who had died today. After the Capital symbol faded to nothing, Tiny Sorrel face appeared, from district 4. The girl from 4 appeared next. Next came the boy and girl from 7. The girl from 8 and the boy from 9. Both from 10 and 11 came next. Finally, the boy from 12. That meant that Basil, Sage, and Canna were still alive. I yawned loudly. I didn't realize how tired I was. I headed inside the restaurant, barely looking at anything inside it. I headed into the kitchen area and lay down on my jacket. In seconds, I fell into a deep sleep.

_A baby with blonde hair was lying on a beautiful blue couch. Her dad was sitting on a hard wooden chair next to her, his face showing no emotion whatsoever. His gaze was fixed at the giant TV in the right corner of the room. The announcer from the TV came on and proclaimed;_

_ "There is a slight change this year, folks. There is a woman in the arena with the tributes. If a tribute kills that woman, they will get money from the capital themselves to help give them food and water during the games! Here is some live feed of her!" On the TV flashed a beautiful woman with tears streaming down her face. She was wandering aimlessly through a dessert. The little baby on the couch cocked her head at the TV._

_ "Mommy!" The baby cried, her hands curled into tiny fists._

_ "That is not your mother." The man said stiffly, "Not anymore."_

I groaned. Nightmares in the arena! Really! I slowly peeled my eyes open. That is when I saw the eight red eyes staring back at me.

**A/N: I hoped you liked the first day in the arena! Sorry, I probably won't be able to put up another chapter in a while. Reviewing would help though! Please give me new ideas and review!**


	8. Chapter 8

** A/N: Ok here I am again! Hungergamesforlife47 (lilmisstalksalot1211) persuaded me to write again! Please review and give me advice. If you review and ask for a shout-out in my story, I would be more than happy to give it to you. So here is day #2 of the hunger games. 13 tributes are left.**

On impulse, my right hand shot up at one of the pair of eyes. Instead of flinching, the figure took another step closer. I leaped to my feet, ready to tackle this new opponent. What were they? It was pitch dark in the kitchen and all I saw were dozens and dozens of red eyes floating about. They were slowly moving toward me. Had the Capital sent mutant humans to kill me in my sleep? It wouldn't surprise me. Four pairs of eyes blinked at the exact same time. They all moved forward at the same time also. No…it couldn't be….it was. The offender stepped into a thin shaft of light from the moon. I almost threw in front of me was the biggest, hairiest spider on earth.

Now I am proud of myself of not being a girly girl. I wasn't really into fashion; I never put make-up on; ect. But when it comes to spiders, I am a different person entirely.

I held back a scream, knowing that the spider would attack if I did. My breath came in small ragged gasps. I was hyperventilating. The spider had bristly black and brown fur that puffed out in places. It was much bigger than me, probably the size of a small car. Its beady red eyes looked me up and down hungrily, obviously delighted that its dinner had come to him. I felt bile coming up my throat. Keep it together….keep it together. With one hand, I slowly reached down and stuffed my jacket in my pack. Now that my eyes had adjusted to the darkness, I noticed dozens and dozens of spiders crawling around the kitchen. They all had their eyes on me.

I took a tentative step backwards. The spiders didn't move. I was not going to make it outside. I was going to be killed by giant mutant spiders. Suddenly, a bag ruffled in the far left corner of the kitchen. That was all it took. The spiders erupted. Half of them catapulted themselves at where the noise had come and half charged toward me. I turned and sprinted as fast as my legs would go. I was _not_ going to be killed by spiders! I felt something sharp go into my leg and the floor went out from under me. I promptly fell on my face. This is it. This is the end. I flailed around; trying to kick whatever had gotten me. I was satisfied to hear a crunch, signifying that I had hit one of the spiders. The one I had seen first crawled up my body. I let out an involuntary shiver. It placed its pincers right by my neck.

This was it. I was going to die.

"Prepare to die!" Said a growling, nasty voice. I looked around, wondering who had talked. There was only….spiders. The spider next to me smiled and said in President Snow's voice.

"You have made a horrible mistake, Sylvie. Now you are going to die, just like your mother!" Well that is just the definition of creepy. I frantically looked around, hoping to find a weapon of some sort. Instead I saw a small girl on the ground a few feet away from me. She must have been the one who made that bag rustle. She was tiny, hardly older than 13. She looked at me, tears streaming down her face. Then two spiders gripped her arms and legs and pulled apart in opposite directions, hard. I didn't look away fast enough. I didn't plug my ears hard enough. I still heard her shrieks of agony in my brain long after she was dead. So that is how I am going to die also. The cannon boomed loudly. This seemed to startle the freaky spiders. I kicked one right in the stomach and lept up. I slung my bag on my shoulder and was out of there faster than you could say "spider". I watched as the airship came and several arms emerged to pick up the many pieces of the girl. Finally, I went on my way.

The girl's face was burned in my brain. She was silently pleading me to help her. I could have, I should have. I felt as bad as the careers. I trudged along slowly, ignoring the beautiful sunset and the scenery around me. Finally, around the middle of the day, I flopped down and poured the contents of my pack on the ground.

One empty container, one bag of sugar, a small knife, a tiny piece of rope, a magnifying glass, a jacket, an apple, a blanket, and finally pepper spray. What strange stuff. A bag of sugar? Are you supposed to eat that? I took a few nibbles off the apple, my stomach still churning from the horrific event this morning. I piled everything back in my bag and headed on. While I was walking, I found a pair of hiking boots and slipped them on. This must be the easiest year ever! I mean there were shops everywhere! Wow, the Game makers must have had too much to drink or something. At dusk, I snuggled in a shop selling sunglasses and waited for the Capital to make its announcement. The only face in the sky tonight was the girls. She was the girl from 9 and her name was Poppy. Her family must be devastated. I shook the thought out of my head and went to sleep.

The first thought I had as I woke up was: I didn't have a nightmare! Score! The second was: Why was I so wet? I pried my eyes open and, to my horror, saw the shop steadily filling with water. I have to get out of here! I packed everything up and ran to the entrance. The doors were sealed shut. No! I wrenched the cash register off of the stand and flung it into the glass windows. The cash register bounced harmlessly off the glass and onto the floor. Ok, calm down, think! The cold water was up to my knees now. I have to find out where the water is coming from. I looked up and noticed a tiny spout in the ceiling spewing water out of it. It was now up to my chest. I jumped up, attempting to reach the spout with no avail. I swam back over to the glass and threw myself against them. Pounding on them and screaming for help. I couldn't touch the floor anymore. I swam back over to the spout and attempted to cover it. I managed to wrap my blanket around it, but instead of the situation being solved, two more spouted appeared. Now I really was going to die! I clung to the ledge on the ceiling. I only had a few more seconds left…I took a huge breath as the water went over my head. I hurriedly swam to the entrance, using all my might against the door.

My lungs were screaming for air. My eyes were burning from the harsh salt water. I couldn't hold my breath any longer. I felt like I was going to faint. Maybe if I just close my eyes…maybe I will feel better….The last thing I remember before everything went black, was someone clenching my hand tightly.

**A/N: Is Sylvie dead? Did someone rescue her? Sorry that this chapter isn't very long, I didn't have much time to write it. Please, please, please, please review! I really want reviewers! Thanks! Remember I take advice also! End of day #2. 12 tributes left.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: So sorry for the long time without updating! Since I have school, the chapters will probably be shorter and more spread out. Keep reading! Also check out a small parody I made called Peeta Charming. If you review it, I will give you a shout in my story somewhere! Beginning of day #4. 11 tributes left. (And yes, it is day 4) **

Bright light surged into my weak, small eyes. I struggled to pry them open, groaning at the pain it took to do so. My mouth ached and stomach felt like lead. All of a sudden I was on my hands and knees, bile rising up out of my mouth and onto the ground. Where was I? What had happened? After I had emptied everything I had eaten over the past 24 hours out of my stomach, I shakily stood up.

"Are you ok?" A gentle voice murmured in my ear. I felt strong hands clasp my waist, helping me to stand up. My blurry eyesight suddenly cleared and I looked into Basil's puppy dog eyes. Everything that had happened suddenly came rushing back to me. I groaned and would have fallen down if it wasn't for Basil holding me up. "Here, sit down." He cooed. Something was placed in my mouth and I chewed and swallowed it. I immediately felt better.

"Basil," I croaked. "What happened?"

"I was walking around when I heard someone screaming and I ran to help them. The next thing I know, I'm right in front of this shop completely filled with water and….someone was inside." I felt his gaze on me. "I managed to wrench the doors open and get you out. But, Sylvie, you were unconscious for a day."

"What!? So it's the beginning of day 4?" He nodded. "Who…"

"Fern" he answered numbly.

"I'm sorry. I know you two were in the same district…"

"It's fine. I didn't even know her that well." I could tell there was more but I didn't push him. Wait a second! Basil was here! He said he had a crush on me! Does that make us allies? Oh…wait. We are in a fight to our deaths. Bigger issues. "Come on, ally!" He called, his brown eyes sparkling. " I have the best place to go for tonight. " He took my sweaty hand and started leading me in a random direction. I looked all around. We appeared to still be in the New York place. Tall buildings seemed to smile and sparkle at me from every direction. I shivered. This place looked so inviting…yet creepy.

I heard a sudden rustle in a bush to my left. I instinctively leapt up and pulled the creature out into the light. I heard Basil jump right beside me. A small girl stumbled out of the foliage. Her T-shirt was dirty and soiled and her eyes were blood-shot. There were streaks on her face from crying. I recognized her as the tribute from district 12. If I remembered correctly, her brother was also reaped to be in the hunger games. He died in the blood-bath.

"STOP!" She screamed crazily. Her eyes widening in horror at the knife that Basil held tightly in his hand. "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! THE BRACELET! THAT'S HOW THEY KNOW!" Obviously she had gone crazy from her brother's death. "ONLY ONE CAN WIN! THAT'S A LIE! 30 YEARS! 30 YEARS!" What was she talking about? She stumbled up to me. "IN 30 YEARS, HISTORY WILL REPEAT ITSLEF! YOU WILL DIE! MONKEY'S! MONKEY'S! KILLER MONKEY'S! YOU WILL SAVE BREAD! YOU WILL SAVE BREAD!"

Wow! What the heck was she talking about? I will save bread? What is that supposed to mean? "YOU HAVE TO SAVE BREAD! TO DO SO, USE THE CRYSTAL! IT BURNS! IT BURNS!" Her hands clamped onto my arms. "YOU HAVE TO!" Suddenly, something shiny appeared in her neck. Her wild expression dazed and a small stream of blood poured out of her mouth. I shook her off of me. I looked over to see Basil's hand empty. He had killed her. _BOOM!_ Right on schedule.

"Come on." Basil said, "Let's get out of here."

"What was that all about?" I asked, laughing shakily.

"She went crazy." He muttered. "None of that is true. Don't lose sleep thinking about it." He turned and gave me a small smile. "Come on, it's almost night time."

"Ok…" I answered, hesitantly following him, wondering if what she said really was fake.

**A/N: Sorry it's not that good. I sort of had to rush to finish this. As always review! End of day #4. 10 tributes left.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry that I haven't been updating but I have been really busy. Beginning of day #5. 10 tributes left.**

I slowly padded after Basil,my thoughts still on the strange girl from district twelve. What did she mean by killer monkeys? How did she know who I was? I shot a smile at Basil, hoping he would say something to clear my cluttered head. He had seemed to know who the girl from twelve was, and what she meant.

"Basil-"

"Sylvie-" We both said at exactly the same time. I laughed awkwardly. I gestured for him to say his thoughts first.

"Sylvie, I just wanted to tell you that you are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen and...and" He seemed lost for words. "When I pulled you out of that building, I thought you were dead." Wow. Here I was about to interrogate him about some dead girl while he is pronouncing his love for me. I felt lost for words. My mouth opened and closed like a goldfish, things to say flashing through my head.

"Thanks" I finally sputtered. That was lame! I am horrible at this romantic stuff! He didn't seem to think it was lame though because he slipped his hand in mine. A smile creeped on my lips and my cheeks burned. I realized that everyone I knew was watching me right now. Heck, pretty much everyone in the world was watching me right now! We continued on for a couple more hours until midday. The sun was a giant burning circle scorching my skin and eyes. We settled down on a couple rocks to eat. My feet were aching from walking and my stomach was yearning for food.

I immediately dug in, shoving as much food as I dared into my open mouth. After a little while I began to feel drowsy. My eyelids fought to stay open. All too soon Basil stood up signifying that we should continue. With a heave, I threw myself off of the rock. My knees immediately buckled and Basil leaped forward, managing to catch me before my head smashed open on the concrete. I finally let my eyes flutter closed.

I woke up to a searing pain in my right hand. My eyes fell on a bloody knife a few feet away from me. I gasped as I realized who was holding that knife.

**A/N: Dun dun dun. Think you know who is holding the knife that injured Syvlie? Write your answer in the review box and if it is correct, I will give you a shout-out! Hint: it is no one that you will expect! As always review! End of day #5. 10 tributes left.**


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